


Bend But Don't Break Me

by jojo_sain



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), The Isle of the Lost Series - Melissa de la Cruz
Genre: Avatar: Legends of Korra AU, Avatar: The Last Airbender AU, Bending, F/M, Firebending & Firebenders, Hurt/Comfort, Mostly Legends of Korra tho, Partners in Crime, Republic City, Waterbending & Waterbenders, Young Rebels, like physically hurt bc harry gets his ass kicked, poor babies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:48:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23421229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jojo_sain/pseuds/jojo_sain
Summary: Republic City can be a mad world, but it can be even worse for a pair of estranged kids–a lost royal and a former gang kid. Uma likes to keep their incredibly messy lives to a schedule, but one night, Harry doesn't keep to the schedule...(Avatar AU, takes place during Korra's time essentially. Benders, obviously)
Relationships: Harry Hook & Uma, Harry Hook/Uma
Comments: 11
Kudos: 37





	Bend But Don't Break Me

**Author's Note:**

> Y'all
> 
> *Deep breath*
> 
> Y'ALL  
> I HAVE HAD THIS COMPLETED FIC SITTING IN MY GOOGLE DOCS FOR A YEAR AND A HALF AND I NEVER THOUGHT TO PUBLISH IT  
> ...  
> Anyway, enjoy my little Avatar AU bc this is a tough time and why not have a little Huma

11:58 p.m.

The pinching grip of worry had already caught up to Uma, and now, as she paced back and forth in the lobby of her residence, she’d resorted to biting her nails in a failed attempt to calm her nerves. She probably shouldn’t be fretting so much. He said he’d be back by 11 p.m. Maybe he just hit traffic on the way home or an emergency came up at work. She only wished he would have called her if that were the case.

Every now and then, she would glance at the glass doors that served as the main entrance. The outside was always empty at this hour. The Rock-Solid Gym–the only place she could ‘afford’ to rent out as a temporary home–closed hours ago. Gaston, the owner, gives her the same lecture every night. _“Don’t unlock the door under any circumstances.”_ Even with his scathing glare and impressively intimidating build, Uma ignored him every time. If that prideful meathead ever bothered to check the security footage, he would see that, every night, Uma had a visitor.

He’d always buzz in at the front, requesting entrance with a secret passcode only they knew, and Uma would sneak him in. They’d go down to her room a.k.a. the maintenance room, talk for hours about nothing and everything at the same time or just sit in blissful silence until they fell asleep. They’d wake up before the gym opens and Uma would sneak him out the back. That was how they pulled it off.

On this night, however, Harry was almost an hour late. Uma kept looking up at the clock on the wall, but every glance only made her feel worse. She eventually made herself sit down at the front desk, which was directly facing the doors. She propped her chin up against her hand and stared outside, the rhythmic drumming of her fingers against the desktop permeating the uneasy silence. More minutes went by, and Uma’s eyelids grew heavy. She folded her arms onto the desk and rested her chin on top. Soon enough, her fatigue caught up to her, and her eyes slowly shut.

After what felt like an instant later, there was a loud banging on the door.

Uma’s head snapped up, and she saw three dark figures standing close together outside the door, backlit by the single lamp outside. Uma narrowed her tired eyes at them, but she couldn’t make out their faces. She quickly noticed the water fountain to her left. If they were actually as shady as this situation made them appear, at least she could defend herself.

Uma grabbed the intercom device, which was connected to the buzzer outside, and pressed the talk button. “Who are you?” she asked into the microphone, her tone even and stern.

All three heads turned to the right, and the closest one reached out to push the communication button. “My name is Jonas,” came a gruff voice on the intercom. “My friend Gonzo and I work with Harry. We came to drop him off.”

_Drop him off,_ Uma wondered, her brow furrowing in confusion. _Harry always takes his bike to work. Why would he need a ride here?_

“Okay, thanks for the help,” Uma said into the comm device, her tone disguising her suspicion. These were probably some thugs who were trying to pillage and plunder the joint, and they just stalked Harry’s comings and goings to make a convincing story. Uma wasn’t going to take the chance, especially if they didn’t have the secret passcode. “You can go now.”

“We can’t exactly do that,” Jonas said sheepishly. 

“And why not?” Uma inquired skeptically.

There was a long pause where nothing but the sound of crickets could be heard from outside. Then, there was a light shuffle, and a soft groan sounded from one of the other figures. Uma recognized it instantly.

“Harry?” The sinking suspicion that something bad happened made its way back into her subconscious. “Harry, is everything okay?”

The center figure–Uma assumed that was Harry–moved to reach for the comm device. Uma now realized that the reason the three were standing so close was that the other two were supporting Harry. “We ri–“ he started to say, but he was cut off by a wave of coughs and hacks. Now Uma was really concerned, but she didn’t interrupt him. This was the most important part. When he spoke again, his voice was low and hoarse. “…we ride with the tide.”

That was it. Their secret passcode. No one else knew it because it was an old mantra Uma’s father used to repeat back when she was still a kid in the Northern Water Tribe, back when he was still alive.

“Harry, what happened?” she asked, her voice wavering slightly out of fear. For all she knew, the other two guys were plotting to use Harry to get in. Perhaps their ‘persuasion’ was so intense that Harry couldn’t even stand.

“I’ll explain later,” he replied, his voice barely above a whisper. “Just let us in. Ye know I’d die before I let anyone hurt ye.”

And just like that, Uma’s suspicion about the two men with him faded. She quickly hit another button that turned off the locks. Jonas held the door open while Gonzo walked Harry in. Once Uma locked the doors behind them, she finally got a good look at Harry and gasped. She hated that she was right about one thing: he was in such poor shape that he couldn’t stand.

“We found him like this in the middle of the power plant,” Gonzo informed, holding one of Harry’s arms around his shoulder. Jonas took the other arm again while his friend went on. “He didn’t tell us what happened. All he told us was to bring him here.”

“Dear God,” Uma swore, walking around the desk and over them. She never took her wide eyes off of Harry’s face. His lip was split, his jaw was bruised, and one of his eyes was swollen shut. There was dried blood under his nose and on his white shirt, and based on the way he was holding his left foot above the ground, he couldn’t put any pressure on it. His one good eye looked up at her concerned expression, and he still managed to crack a small smirk.

“Hey Uma,” he strained, trying and failing to hide the discomfort in his voice. “How’s yer night been so far?”

Uma took a deep breath and sighed it out through her nose. Now was not the time to get panicked by his condition or annoyed by his audacity to pretend like nothing’s wrong. She just needed to do what she had to do.

“Okay, follow me,” Uma told the gentleman holding up her best friend. She led them into the men’s locker room, past lockers and showers to a handful of steel tubs in the back, normally used for ice baths. She set her hands at the head of the first tub and instructed, “Put him in here, gently.”

Jonas and Gonzo exchanged a glance, the fear of all spirits struck into them by the fierceness in her tone, before reaching down and hoisting up Harry’s legs. Harry made a small groan in protest as they lifted him over the side of the tub and set him down inside. His head rolled back onto the leather headrest, both eyes squeezed shut. Uma carded her fingers through his messy hair, and his tense features relaxed instantly by her touch. Uma paused briefly, once again struck by just how awful he looked, before turning the bath faucet and letting the water stream out.

“I know a good healer,” Gonzo announced, reaching in his back pocket for his phone. “She’s relatively cheap, too. I can get her here in–“

“No need,” Uma stated, watching the water in the tub slowly rise around Harry. “I’m gonna heal him myself.”

“Oh, you’re a healer?” Jonas asked sheepishly, motioning for Gonzo to put his phone away.

“Well, I’m not giving Harry a bath because I’m overly worried about his cleaning habits,” Uma quipped, annoyed by the small talk.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean any offense,” Gonzo apologized, rubbing his hands together. “I didn’t know this gym had a healer.”

“Nobody does,” Uma admitted darkly, looking up at the two men and walking around the basin to stand in front of them. She crossed her arms over her chest and shot them a daring glare. “And it better stay that way,” she emphasized, looking them up and down. “You guys firebenders, too?”

“Yeah,” Jonas answered with uncertain inflection.

“Well, if you guys tell anyone that I’m here or that I let you in,” she began threateningly. A single finger raised up from her hand, and the water behind her obeyed, sending a thin stream up to be level with her head. She bent her finger, and the tip of the floating water froze into a spearhead pointed at the two men. “I’ll douse your flames faster than you can say octopus. Understand?”

Jonas and Gonzo gulped and exchanged another wide-eyed glance, now even more afraid of this small, menacing girl who could command water with barely any movement. Harry spoke up, “I’d listen to her if I were you.”

Jonas and Gonzo nodded their heads, taking their friend’s advice and swearing to keep their mouths shut. Uma let her frozen spear melt and fall back into Harry’s bath with a slow exhale. One less thing on her long list of things she needed to worry about.

Uma led the two men out, thanking them again for the help, and promptly returned to Harry in the locker room. The tub was now about half full, leaving Harry’s chest and much of his bent knees still above the surface. Uma rolled up the sleeves of her hoodie, reached inside the tub, and started unbuttoning his cotton work shirt so she could examine the damage she couldn’t see.

“Ye didn’t have to be so hard on the guys,” Harry chuckled weakly. 

“Sorry if I’m a bit on edge,” Uma retorted, brushing her fingers ever so delicately against a darkening bruise on his chest. “My best friend was over an hour late and showed up beaten to a pulp.”

“I’m yer only friend,” Harry reminded her, wincing slightly when she put pressure on another tender area over his ribs.

“Doesn’t make you any less important to me,” Uma replied, dipping her hand into the water to feel around his abdomen. By now, the water had covered his knees. Uma let the water flow for a few more seconds before shutting off the faucet and folding her arms over the edge of the tub. “Are you gonna tell me what happened?”

“Just some assholes at the power plant,” Harry retold, throwing his head back and looking up at the ceiling. “Some old farts who work maintenance jumped me when I took my last break.”

“Non-benders?” Uma asked, although the nature of his injuries made the answer pretty obvious.

“Yeah,” Harry confirmed with a small nod of his head. “They’re always bitchin’ about how we benders are stealin’ their wages. They hate me the most since I work the longest hours, and since I was the only one workin’ tonight, it was the perfect time to ‘teach me a lesson.’” He used a mocking tone and added air quotes, but then he winced and set his arms back down.

“How many?” Uma nudged his arm, silently telling him to put it in the water. 

“Four or five guys,” Harry answered, obliging and placing both hands beneath the surface of the water. The resulting ripples made the loose sides of Harry’s shirt move to and fro. 

“Did you fight back?”

“I may have landed a punch or two.”

“Harry,” Uma demanded his attention with her tone. Harry met her powerful glare. “Did you fight back?”

The underlying message in her repeated question was clear to Harry, and he shook his head. “No flames,” he assured her, offering a small smile. “I couldn’t risk them goin’ to the boss with burns and gettin’ me fired.”

Uma sighed in relief and moved her attention down to his feet. Her hand entered the tub again, and she coaxed the water to undo his shoelaces with a trained flick of her wrist. However, when she tried to pull his boot off, Harry whimpered in pain.

“How about you, huh?” Uma asked, hoping that engaging him in further conversation would keep his mind off her trying to remove his boot. She added her other hand to the effort.

“What about me?” he asked, biting down on his lip and looking away as she shifted his boot again.

“Are you going to tell your boss about the guys that attacked you?” Uma clarified, slowly working his shoe off and getting a glance at his bulging ankle under the sock. After pulling off his boot the rest of the way, she rolled his sock down past the heel. It looked nothing short of a severe contusion, and she just prayed it wasn’t broken.

“Nah, I ain’t tryin’ to cause more trouble,” Harry confessed, his voice straining as he slowly set his foot down against the bottom of the tub.

“That’s very unlike you,” Uma noted with a friendly smile while she worked off the boot on his uninjured foot. “I never thought the son of the most notorious crime boss in Republic City would ever want to avoid trouble.”

“And I never thought the lost princess of the Northern Water Tribe would live in the leaky maintenance room of a workout facility,” Harry mused cleverly, able to keep his suave nature even when busted up. Uma rolled her eyes, amused by how he always managed to bring that particular fact about her up. “And I’m not taking any chances, Uma. I need this job.”

“No, you don’t Harry,” Uma admonished, giving him a worried look. She knew why he felt obligated to keep the job at the power plant. Whatever money he made, they’d store away in a small box in Uma’s ‘leaky maintenance room.’ He’d use some of it to sometimes pick up food or anything else they needed, but the big goal was to save enough to get her a one-way ticket back to the North Pole, where everyone thought she was dead. He felt like he owed her after helping her escape from his father's gang, but that was six years ago. Even then, it can be debated who saved who.

Harry looked down at his hands in the water, and Uma sighed, choosing to let the matter drop for now. She appreciated his help, she really did, but she hated seeing him get beat up this badly over something that they couldn’t even do anything about. All she could do was heal his wounds and hope this was a one-time thing.

“Never mind,” Uma dismissed, standing up straight and shaking the water off of her wrists. She put her hands on her hips and took a deep preparation breath. “You ready for this?”

“Aww man,” Harry moaned unenthusiastically. “This always feels weird. Can’t ye just heal me with yer tender love and affection?”

He flashed her a winning smile, and she shook her head no, though a small chuckle betrayed her annoyed glare. He was definitely a charmer when he could be.

“Just sink down so your shoulders are underwater,” Uma commanded with a smirk. With a reluctant pout, Harry did as told and dropped further into the water. Uma took a step back, focused on the water, and began to make fluid motions with her arms. The tub turned iridescent with a bright blue light, indicating the healing process had begun.

* * *

By the time Harry was as healed as Uma could get him, she was dead tired. She had to work in intervals, stopping to get a drink from the water fountain and sit down for a few minutes, but her overall effort never ceased. While taking her ‘breaks,’ she’d heal the bruises on his face. Harry grew just as concerned for her well-being as she was for his. Every now and then, her eyelids would drift shut, and she’d have to shake her fatigue away. In some other instances, Harry would notice the light in the water flicker out briefly before coming back on. The healing was clearly taking its toll on Uma’s body as it made his well. 

When the whole process finished, and Harry could move on his own with nothing but mild soreness, he slowly got out of the tub. His soaked shirt fell off his shoulders, but he caught it before it hit the floor. Uma grabbed him a towel from a nearby shelf before collapsing onto a stool. She leaned her elbows onto her knees and held her face in her hands with a deep sigh.

“You okay?” Harry asked, patting his chest dry with the folded towel. Uma slowly raised her head and nodded with half-lidded eyes and a soft smile.

“Yeah, just tired,” she replied, though Harry wasn’t entirely convinced. ‘Just tired’ meant you could take a nap if given the opportunity. Uma looked like she could pass out asleep at any second. She jabbed a thumb over her shoulder. “I borrowed some clothes from the Lost-and-Found for you.” Her words drifted into a yawn as she stood up. “I can go grab them for you.”

The bottom of her sneakers squeaked against the wet tiles surrounding the tub, and one foot slipped on the water, veering her weak legs out from underneath her. She couldn’t react fast enough, and she felt herself plummeting to the floor until two strong arms caught her. Harry slowly pulled her back onto her unsteady feet, keeping his hands under her elbows for support.

“I think ye should stay here for a few,” Harry suggested, gazing down at her with nothing but concern in his blue eyes–a bizarre characteristic for a firebender, but a trait inherited by his waterbending mother. “I’ll go change and come back for ye, okay?”

Uma rubbed her hands across his forearms, taking a second to appreciate just how warm his skin was at all times. Even after just getting out of a bath and standing in the frigidly air-conditioned room, his body was already a furnace. Uma didn’t know if it was a firebender thing or a Harry thing, but she didn’t need to know. She was just thankful to feel something warm at the end of a day in her cold laundry room.

“Mmkay,” Uma mumbled, only agreeing because her legs felt like they could give out at any second. Her energy was completely drained, which meant she didn’t have the energy to start an argument either. Harry helped her walk over to an area bordered on three sides by lockers and supported her as she slowly sat down against the icy metal. Before he left, Uma added in a dazed voice, “Just drop your clothes in a towel bin and hide them at the bottom. I’ll clean them in the morning.”

Harry gave her an understanding nod and stood up to leave. Once he was gone, Uma rolled down the sleeves of her hoodie–another thing ‘borrowed’ from any gym-goers unfortunate enough to leave their stuff in their locker–and pulled the hood over her head. The gym atmosphere always chilled her to the bone. Not only was the place always air-conditioned to compensate for the athletes’ rigorous training heat, but Uma spent her days in the laundry room and her nights in the maintenance room. To pay her ‘rent’ to Gaston, which pays for her shelter every night, she acted as a human washing machine, bending water in a basin filled with gym towels and detergent. Gaston saved money on electrical bills and water bills, and Uma didn’t die during the winter. It was a win-win.

Working in the laundry room also meant Uma could sneak things out of the Lost-and-Found, as long as she did so without getting noticed. After six years of living here, and going through her disappointingly uneventful growth spurt, it was safe to say that all of her clothes were ‘borrowed'.

Uma hugged her knees to her chest and stared at the lockers ahead of her, desperately trying to fight off sleep. Both she and Harry went through their days laying low, never talking to anyone unless they needed to, and both looked forward to the end of the day when they could finally talk to someone they trust with all their heart. Uma didn’t want to fall asleep and take that away from Harry, especially after a specifically hard day.

However, fatigue won out in the end, and Uma’s head fell back against the lockers with a quiet thud. She was exhausted beyond even comprehending she was asleep. She hadn’t realized she dozed off until she felt two arms, those same heat-radiating arms that caught her before she fell, slide under her legs and behind her back.

Uma moaned softly, squinting into the ceiling lights made harsher by her exhaustion. “Harry?”

“Shhhh,” Harry shushed her, taking his arm out from under her knees and gently stroking her cheek with his thumb. “Just go back to sleep. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Uma instinctively leaned into his hand, seeking the warmth it emitted. When it parted from her face, she furrowed her brow in disappointment, even after it was replaced beneath her legs. Harry slowly lifted her off the ground, and while Uma’s body was relieved at having the burden of movement taken off of it, Uma’s mind was stubborn and prideful. She swatted a limp hand against his chest, barely making any contact at all, and protested jadedly, “I can walk on my own.”

“This is the least I can do, Uma,” Harry chuckled lightly, keeping his voice low as to not shock the girl who was still on the verge of slumber. “Consider it payment for yer wonderful healing assistance.”

When he put it like that, Uma gave up on convincing him to set her down (especially since the rest of her body seemed to sing his praises). Uma let her head fall against her shoulder. Even through his red t-shirt, she felt like she was face to face with an open flame. The warmth coupled with the lulling rhythm of his heartbeat so close to her ear made falling asleep in his arms all the more inviting.

Uma awoke again when Harry set her down on what she recognized was her worn mattress. It sat against the wall on the floor in the small maintenance room she called her own. There were electrical boxes on the walls, and the main air conditioning unit sat across from her bed, but Uma didn’t need much more than a place to sleep and a small corner for her few possessions.

Once again, Uma found herself chilled by the absence of Harry’s proximity. She cracked her eyes open to the rest of the dark room. There were no lights in this room, but she could make out the small orange glow at the edge of her bed. Harry was sitting there and staring down at her, his eyes seeming to glow by the firelight he produced in his hand.

Uma sat up and groaned, rubbing her tired eyes, and Harry quickly closed his hand to kill the flame. “Sorry,” he hastily apologized. “Did I wake ye?”

“Nah, I’ve been awake,” Uma lied, scooting closer to him to try and capture any more of his heat. She yawned for the umpteenth time, “I’m gonna sleep now though.”

“Ye want me to stay with ye again?” he asked, and Uma nodded her head. He asked her every night as a perfunctory courtesy, but Uma’s answer was always the same. When she first found herself working and living in Gaston’s gym at the quaint age of ten, Uma faced many nights of restless sleep due to the bone-chilling atmosphere. Even under her small blanket and layers of repossessed clothing, Uma never escaped the cold. Harry wasn’t a nightly visitor at the time, but he still dropped by very frequently. On one night, when Harry noticed Uma’s feverish shivering, he offered to lay beside her, as his mother used to do for him and his sisters. Uma let him, and she hasn’t slept without him there since. Over time, Uma realized just how warm Harry was even in resting, and sleeping beside him turned into sleeping against him or curled up into his side. Harry never minded the intimacy. He loved feeling as though she needed him, and he was happy to serve in any way he could. 

That’s why, three years later, when she sheepishly suggested they abstain from their shirts for a more effective transfer of heat, he happily agreed. Of course, she made him swear ‘No Funny Business’. 

Another three years later, they had their routine down to a T. After Uma buzzed Harry in, he’d change into some ‘donated’ gym clothes and meet her in her room. Then, they’d talk for some amount of time, sometimes eating a snack if they were so lucky to come by some loose cash or someone’s loose lunch. When the temptation of sleep became too great, they’d find themselves where they were right now.

Harry tugged his shirt off and tossed it off to the side. Uma couldn’t see in the darkness, but she could hear the shuffling and feel the resulting torrid wave. With sluggish movements, Uma pulled her arms inside her hoodie and slid the baggy article over her head, leaving her torso exposed to the biting cold save for a sports bra–okay, this one she actually stole while some lady was using the gym showers.

Uma pushed her braids over one shoulder and held them there. Seconds later, she felt Harry’s fingers deftly work to untie her necklace, a nautilus shell attached to a blue choker. It was her mother’s betrothal necklace, but when Uma’s father passed away, her mother tossed it in the snow like it was a scrappy piece of junk. Uma picked it up and always held onto it. When she ‘moved’ to republic city, she finally started wearing it and only took it off at night.

Once Harry untied the necklace, he placed it in her hands and reclined onto the mattress. Uma stared at her hands with unseeing eyes, trying to focus on the intricate detail of the necklace in the low light. It left a weird feeling in her stomach, knowing that if she were still in the Northern Water Tribe, her Uncle Triton would have arranged for some young man to be her fiancé, and she would be getting her own unique necklace to bear. It was little details like that made going back a little less desirable.

Then, a wave of shivers racked her body, and she remembered how much she missed her fur-lined coat.

“Everything okay?” Harry asked in the silence.

Uma snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of his voice. She slid her necklace under her pillow and cleared her head of her home. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she said unconvincingly, but Harry didn’t mention it.

Uma rested her head on the pillow and scooted towards Harry so her back was pressed into his bare chest. He pulled the small blanket over their legs, which always got tangled up in some kind of way depending on which parts of Uma’s feet were the coldest. His arms wrapped securely around her middle, encasing her like a blazing pyre. Her hands fell over top of his, which were always dry and cramped after a long day of shooting lighting at a conductive receiver. 

Even though Harry was a notorious flirt at any other given time, he respected Uma’s wishes to never overstep his bounds during this time of much-needed proximity. Uma needed him there so she didn’t die of hypothermia. He needed to know that she was safe, and he swore to himself that there would be no safer place for her than in his arms. If anybody broke in, they would have to get through him before they laid a hand on her. If she had a nightmare, he would be the first one there to comfort her. And of course, as he was commissioned to do, if the cold, stiff air became too much, he would fight the cold with his sheer force of will to give her a restful night's sleep.

It wasn’t a totally thankless job. Uma didn’t always explicitly thank him, but he knew she appreciated his presence by subtle looks and hidden meanings in her words that never went unnoticed. Also, her touch was everything he needed to ease his stiff muscles and relax his mind. Uma wasn’t the only one benefitting from their sleeping arrangement.

A few minutes into their slumber, Uma was struck by another wave of shivers. Harry immediately pulled her closer, moving with utmost mindfulness. He nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck and released a deep breath through his nose, sending a wave of purposeful heat through her body. The tremors ceased, and Uma let out a deep sigh.

“Ye know, I worry about ye,” Harry whispered against her skin. He dreaded the daytime because it meant that there was a large chunk of hours when he wasn’t by her side. He never knew if Uma would one day just up and leave, or even get kicked out or get hurt. Every shiver, every look of fatigue, every reminder that her bending was pushed all day, just like his, only made him grow more concerned for her safety. They were both lean yet scrawny for their age. Eventually, it would catch up to them.

“And I worry about you,” Uma answered back, staring blankly at the space in front of her. Her eyes had adjusted to the low light, and she could just barely make out the AC unit.

“Come on, I’m serious,” Harry insisted, a level of urgency in his hushed voice. Then, it softened as he admitted, “Yer my best friend.”

“I’m your only friend,” Uma echoed back.

“Fair enough, but seriously.” He paused, and Uma remained silent to let him continue what he was saying, “Promise me ye’ll take care of yerself.”

Uma sighed and didn’t respond right away. She didn’t have the luxury of taking care of herself. She had to do what she had to in order to survive. He understood that, but the anxiety killed him, and she felt the same way about his well-being. “Only if you promise me that you’ll do the same for you,” she replied after a while.

“I don’t know if I can keep that promise, darlin’,” Harry confessed, a light chuckle trying to hide how ashamed he was of that truth. Just look at tonight! 

“Wow, we have so much in common,” Uma mused, she bit her lip, trying not to think of all the dangerous trouble Harry could get himself into. It would only get worse as he got older, and that terrified her.

“I’m afraid that you and I are as different as fire and water,” Harry pondered wisely, trying to lighten the mood after feeling Uma’s sudden shift in mood by the drop in her voice and the silence that followed. It at least brought a smile to her face, and even though he couldn’t see it, he knew it was there.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of,” Uma told him with finality, gently squeezing their interlaced fingers. “I got you.”

Harry grinned, feeling a tickle of warmth in his gut–not a product of his inertly increased body heat–after she said that. He settled his head down right behind hers, relishing in the feeling of having his most valued partner in his arms.

“And I got you,” he whispered back before the two fell into a restful sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah...THAT HAS BEEN FINISHED FOR OVER A YEAR!
> 
> I think I wanted to turn it into a longer fic, like I have a backstory and an endgame goal, but this fic was kinda stand-alone so here we go!!!!
> 
> Let me know what y'all think! -Jojo, who accidentally went viral on TikTok bc they're bored in their house


End file.
